NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian Reusch, Jenny Sandvig, Oda Lauksund Engamo and Therese Sætre Løfsgaard, Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig
2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding
is approximately six to seven months. However, this can vary significantly based on the complexity and specific demands of the case. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings As a main rule, civil court proceedings in Norway are open to the public. Cases under the Children’s Act and the Marriage Act and cases between spouses, cohabitants and divorced persons regarding the dis- tribution of property are not open to the public, unless the court decides they should be, for special reasons. The same applies to matters concerning the review of coercive decisions in the health and social care sector. In addition to these exceptions, the court may decide that a hearing shall not be open to the public if this is required for the sake of privacy or proper case information, for example. Court decisions in civil cases are available to the pub- lic. With a few exceptions, this is also true for final written submissions (the parties’ summary of the argu- ments), court hearing records, court mediation proto- cols and cost reports. Writs of summons, notices of defence and other written pleadings are not available to the public, but the parties may give access to the documents. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Only lawyers or authorised assistant lawyers may appear as legal representatives in Norwegian courts. A master’s degree in law is required in order to obtain a lawyer’s licence in Norway, in addition to having passed a mandatory course and having at least two years of relevant work experience involving civil court proceedings. A foreign lawyer may act as counsel if the court finds no objections to this in view of the nature of the case and other circumstances. Only lawyers who are entitled to appear before the Supreme Court can be engaged as counsel in cases that involve an oral hearing before the Supreme Court.
Litigation funding by a third party is not regulated by the Norwegian Dispute Act or other civil acts. It is per- mitted insofar as it does not violate any civil procedur- al provisions or principles. Third-party litigation fund- ing is still in its infancy in Norway, but in recent years the concept has started moving towards becoming a more established dispute resolution tool. In June 2023, the Norwegian Supreme Court issued a ruling that implies a limitation on third-party litigation funding (HR-2023-1034-A). The question was whether the provisions of the Dispute Act allow for third-party litigation funding in an opt-out class action lawsuit when the third party would have its costs and return covered through a reduction of the compensation awarded to the group members, if any. The Supreme Court concluded that the provisions of the Dispute Act do not allow for this and stated that it is a task for the legislature to assess whether changes should be made to the Dispute Act’s rules on class action In principle, all types of lawsuits are available for third- party funding. However, as described in 2.1 Third- Party Litigation Funding , the Norwegian Supreme Court’s decision in June 2023 (HR-2023-1034-A) implies a limitation on third-party funding in opt-out class action lawsuits. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant Third-party funding is available for both the plaintiff and the defendant. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding There is no maximum or minimum amount for third- party funding. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third- Party Funding A third-party funder will normally fund the legal costs of the funded party (fees for counsel, costs of experts, court fees, etc). The agreement can also stipulate that lawsuits. The lawsuit was thus rejected. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits
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